“Addressable Ads”

This Week’s ADWEEK article, “Addressable Ads Get Closer to Reality,” Betsy Cummings reports about “Project Canoe,” a joint venture of some of the largest cable companies, is creating a platform that can target TV ads by household. Tests of “addressable ads” have been conducted in Huntsville, Alabama, and are planned for Baltimore, Maryland.

What made The Marketing Consigliere chuckle was her first line of the article: “Marketers, media buyers and network executives have all been looking at new technology that could revolutionize the industry.”

Revolutionize?

How about “allow an ‘old media’ (push) format to feebly catch up to Internet based advertising?”

He must admit that Cable has actually stepped up to the plate in several ways – namely in terms of convergence and offering more secure Internet access than they had in the past, but revolutionize?

When you can deliver ads based on behavioral or contextual criteria, opt-in, make them truly interactive, and optimize them, call the agencies and then call The Marketing Consigliere.

Nyet– the revolution has already started, cable comrades, and it’s led by others.  Network Centric Marketing is leading the way and you cable guys better hurry up – keep converging with the data-heads.